Fighting (Rogue Pictures)
Tatums the Reason To See It
There arent a lot of reasons to go to see Fighting but the main one is Channing Tatum. The second one is Terrence Howard. These two men give the one two punch to this tale of bare knuckles boxing in New York City. With lesser actors it wouldnt have caused a ripple in Hollywood but with these two on board it is getting some attention.
Shawn MacArthur (Tatum) is a guy basically living on the streets of New York. Why, we dont know. He makes a living selling books, DVDs and umbrellas on the sidewalks of the city. One day some punks try to rip him off and he gets into a fight. This fight is observed by Harvey Boarden (Howard), a promoter of sorts.
Boarden offers Shawn a chance to make some money by fighting. The winner will get ten thousand, the loser nothing. Gullible Shawn agrees and the movie takes off from there as Shawn becomes a sensation on the underground boxing circuit.
Shawn also finds romance with a cocktail waitress at a club where the boxers and sponsors go. Her name is Zulay (Zulay Henao) and she lives with her grandmother and daughter. She brings out Shawns protective instincts. Eventually she, Boarden and Shawn are all caught up in a get rich quick scheme that may leave them all dead.
Tatum has a mumbling, bumbling charm to him. He has the physique and the face for the part and his awkwardness endears him to the audience. His romantic scenes with Henao show a tender side that women are going to love. This guy could have a major career ahead of him.
As Boarden, Howard has a sad neediness. He is the ultimate outsider looking for way to get back on the fast track to success, but knowing it will probably never happen. Tatum flashes star power with his looks and personality while Howard does it with pure acting skills.
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence.
Fighting is a movie about fighting. It could have been a Jean Claude Van Damme starrer in that actors younger days. Of course he would have given it his own flair. Tatum makes it an interesting movie just because he is interesting, and Howard does the rest.
I scored Fighting a bare knuckled 6 out of 10.
